King 2 Hearts Week 2: Jae Ha’s battle

Week 2 pushed our Prince to the edge, learning a lesson the hard way. I guess pushing him beyond his limits has woken up a strong and responsible man sleeping within him. I really felt that he’s getting better and that he’s not as terrible as I thought him to be. Seeing Jae Ha in a different light made me think that our Prince has finally grown up. Well, maybe not fully grown just yet.. I’m loving his progress and I enjoyed his heart since it has melted! Thanks much to Hang Ah and Big bro..

Without further ado, here are the highlights and my personal favorite scene!

EPISODES 3 and 4:

Jae Ha is truly a frank jerk. He just say what he wants without thinking he’d hurt someone. Such is the case here. When he saw how hurt Hang Ah was, that’s the only time he realized that he must have done something wrong. To make amends, Jae Ha tried to talk to Hang Ah but he was just ignored. Even if he gave her beauty products, nada. Nothing worked.

When the team was discussing their plans, Hang Ah suddenly announced that she’d be quitting. Everyone started to confess about their own reasons for joining the WOC. The table was turned, instead of Hang Ah leaving, she was suddenly touched that her comrades badly needs her in the team and earns their trust. This was enough for her to stay.

The roomies went back to teasing mode once again. This time, Hang Ah asked Jae Ha what men looks for in a woman. This earned just a raised eyebrow when Jae Ha started talking about the “Oppa” stuff and all the aegyo that goes with it.. yeah, even the cheating for him should be understood by women.. the heck NO! Of course our girl isn’t to be moved. She then asked Jae Ha if those type of women adores him. He didn’t even hesitate and answered yes since he’s The Prince. However, his chord was struck when Hang Ah suddenly blurted out that, without his crown, he ain’t got nothing. Moreover, it hurts that our Prince might really find it hard to look for a woman who would accept and love him as him. Double whammy.

Few more bickering and Jae Ha’s flame finally ignited, so here goes the treadmill challenge. It’s funny that this two surely knows the right button to hit. Such a perfect combo this two are!

Going back to the treadmill, a sudden explosion startled everyone. A North Korean soldier was injured after using a treadmill intended for higher rank officials. Because of this, everyone was alerted and soon they found out that there’s a hidden bomb inside the treadmill. Oh noes!! Jae Ha and Hang Ah were using the units that has a bomb and that it will be triggered once they stopped. Ala speed the movie, everyone anticipated as the bomb experts tried to dismantle and stop the bomb from exploding. The roomies was left no choice but to continue running, sweat be damned..

It was already evening when the bomb was finally disarmed. The roomies were rushed to the clinic. Jae Ha was first to gain consciousness.. he then looked at Hang Ah sleeping beside him. When he was about to tuck away a strand of her hair, Hang Ah woke up. The treadmill challenge and the bomb threat isn’t enough to stop the roomies from bickering. So we continue on with more of that, even infront of their own Generals.

I have some moments to spare and give. So let’s take a breather and talk about the Pen stabber – Bong Gu. He met up with the King in a very secluded, historical place. The Pen stabber’s company, the M Society is responsible for bringing all the needed paraphernalia during wars, aka bombs. So he is a main supplier. It’s a threat for his business if indeed the North and South will be unified. He’d have no client. That ends this Pen stabber post.

Moving on. The United Nations were given notice of the bomb threat that happened in the Northern territory. A search has been conducted so every American soldier rummaged through every room. Inside the roomies hideout, the soldiers found Hang Ah’s underware case. They suspected her as a spy and ordered the case be opened. Good thing dearest Prince was there to save the day. It was such a sweet gesture he did. Nothing of romantic inclination, just Jae Ha being sweet..

I so love the brotherly love and how unconditional it is amidst all that surrounds them. I love the video chat! Jae Ha is really such a kid with his hyung around blurting out his side of the story. He narrates to his Hyung the recent events until Jae Kang segued to marriage talk. At first Jae Ha thought that his brother will marry again but it turns out he’s already being set up for marriage and to a North Korean at that. Who this girl might be? No other than Hang Ah.

On the other side, the Northern General was out to convince his daughter about the marriage proposal. Since their goal is finding her a husband, he decided on having Jae Ha be the it. Heh.Of course she vehemently disagreed. Of all men, why him?? She simply wants Brad Pitt. As if that’s possible..

Jae Ha continuously confronts his hyung. Then he suddenly had a slip of heart telling Jae Kang that even if he loves Hang Ah, he won’t let his Hyung die thinking she’d just set them all up to kill. Haha. Jae Ha is soo superficial at times.. Does this mean that he’s starting to fall for Hang Ah now??

To prove that, we get a jealousy arc, courtesy of Shi Kyung. I’m liking this guy. I hope we’d get to know more about him in the coming episodes. Moving on, Shi Kyung and the other boys were playing in the snow. Hang Ah played along too, just in time when Jae Ha decided to come outside. He didn’t enjoy the sight, seeing Hang Ah happily playing around with Shi Kyung. And since we can’t get enough of the bickering, the roomies continuously shower us with more of this.

It’s Kang Suk’s birthday. Jae Ha is back to his old self, the trouble maker. He knows well that Kang Suk loves the girl group, SNSD aka Girl’s Generation. So he decided to give him what he wants. This resulted to no good. As Kang Suk watched the SNSD video, he fumes as he reads Jae Ha’s message disguised as Shi Kyung’s gift. He was embarrassed that someone knows this that made him angry, breaking the laptop into pieces. It finally dawned to him that only two person knows about his love for SNSD. That’s when he realized that Jae Ha was the culprit of the video message. Ooopps, somebody’s in trouble..

This SNSD stuff escalated into an almost feud. Because of Jae Ha, a war might have started for real since Kang Suk was really in flames. It came down to a point where everyone was pointing a gun, North versus the South. It ceased only when Jae Ha received a phone call from Shi Kyung. Since it was his duty to protect the Prince, he planned to save him. But it didn’t push through as Jae Ha executed his own.

The heated tension suddenly diffused as Jae Ha looked directly at Kang Suk, sincerely apologizing. This is when he loosened his grip and everyone finally put down their weapons. What a scene! Just when i thought a war might happen just because of SNSD, Jae Ha will just segue things into a different direction. It was a bold move from him. I think what really got Kang Suk is his sincerity. His eyes really expressed that he is sorry.

However things did not totally end just yet. There was indeed a war brewing. Alarms was set on, and the South team were arrested. Jae Ha was locked in the swimming pool by Hang Ah as a punishment for causing Kang Suk’s gift switch. The North soldiers easily breaks the door and arrested the Prince too. Hang Ah received orders that she must take her team mates out. She was trying to convince Jae Ha to join her but he was hesitant since she was carrying a gun. He didn’t trust her enough thinking she must be laying a trap to kill him eventually.

Jae Ha is such a stubborn brat, but Hang Ah finally succeeded when she convinced Jae Ha that she’d do him no harm. She even handed him her gun. On their way out, they were greeted by armed men outside the building. This caused a sudden outburst of fear and anger so Jae Ha was triggered to defend himself. Things happened quickly as Jae Ha shot directly at Hang Ah. He felt betrayed by her, so without even thinking he just did it.

Suddenly, King Jae Kang arrived and everyone ceased fire. Is this another test then?? Yup, everything was a set up. The next scene that was shown was really touching. It’s as if Jae Ha received a direct hit himself. His very own brother humbly apologized in his behalf telling everyone that the King is to blame for the incident that happened. He made a wrong decision thinking that the North and South will have a good unison. Jae Ha was awestruck seeing his brother bow down.

I love Seung Gi’s expression here. Immense pain and anger and a sprinkle of humiliation since he’s the root cause why his brother let down his pride. To humble yourself is truly remarkable. Who wouldn’t be moved? Jae Ha is in for a rude awakening in a sense..

I love the confrontation that followed. Honestly I love it when Jae Kang talks to his brother. He is very firm with him and surely knows how to trigger Jae Ha to change. The King is straightforward in saying Jae Ha’s faults.. he’s never afraid to tell his brother made a huge mistake and calls upon it without hesitation or thought that he’d hurt Jae Ha by saying so. Hearing this, Jae Ha became clear headed. And when the King announced that he’d discontinue Korea’s bet for WOC, Jae Ha was challenged to prove his brother that he’d set a good example. And how the heck will Jae Ha do that? He’d finished the 60 km trek within 8 hours. If he’s successful, the Korean team won’t be disbanded.

Our Prince started on his journey.. he was suddenly stopped by Hang Ah on his way. Jae Ha obviously was happy seeing her. But then he has to keep cool, as if not wanting her around. Hang Ah started to tell Jae Ha about the danger of being alone surrounded by fully armed, fully trained, fully notorious people from neighboring village. Actually, I don’t think Jae Ha needed threats to be convinced that Hang Ah join him.. oh well. In the end, the roomies became buddies now as they both continue on the 60 km challenge.

It turns out that Jae Ha has a different agenda. Just when I thought he’d take full responsibility for his action, he’s just going to run for 2 kms and he’d stop. Besides, he is injured and he thought his brother will just call for help and stop him when he sees Jae Ha’s sincerity. Lo and behold, a soldier came to inform them that they have to finish the 60 km trek by early morning. Haha. Our Prince’s plan backfired! Just a side note, what I’ve come to love about this challenge is the essence of team work. Shi Kyung and others followed the buddies, it was touching to see them there and shower us with care for their team mate. Even if Jae Ha is being such a.. he’s troublesome to be with really..

Jae Ha is injured. He’s slowing down since it hurts to use his legs. Hang Ah helped him ease the pain by doing acupuncture. The team mates from the van signals if they needed help, but Jae Ha became really determined this time, thinking about his Hyung and Hang Ah’s previous words to him. It became fuel to him to continue despite the pain he’s feeling. Morning finally came and the buddies are still walking the path. But then, Jae Ha is in immense pain.. he really can’t endure what he feels anymore. He blurted out his frustrations. I love this part since Jae Ha was vulnerable and clueless as to what he’s really doing. Aww. I felt that..

Hang Ah and Jae Ha sat there for few minutes not talking to each other. Hang Ah sweetly gave her handkerchief.. this gave out a smile to our Prince. *glee* Jae Ha’s wall broke down at that moment saying he was really shock that he shot her. Hang Ah looked at him intently and saw him on a very different light.. she smiled thinking the Prince isn’t really that bad after all..

Hang Ah: “Today is a very good day. So many clouds.. the sun is out.. Lie down for a bit. It’s hard to meet such a nice day during the winter. What’s the point of all these worries? You have to enjoy moments like this to really be alive..”

I soooo love this part!! It is indeed in the simplest of things that we’d realize how truly blessed we are.

Both looked at each other, with that classic Korean glance. They enjoyed just lying there, basking in the moment. After few minutes, Jae Ha suddenly stood up thinking they didn’t succeed in finishing the race. He simply continued, walking slowly. All of a sudden he tripped.. not wanting anyone’s help anymore.. Hang Ah then told him that she intentionally said they didn’t have much time left so they could rest. But in truth, they had 40 minutes to spare. This made Jae Ha smile. Hang Ah reached out her hand to help him get up.

And the sweetest thing in this episode was when Jae Ha just sling his arms around Hang Ah’s shoulders as both finished the challenge.

Personal Thoughts:

A big problem with our Prince, he doesn’t think well enough before he acts. Or say, he thinks but its always askew. Like his aiming a different direction thinking he’d hit the bull’s eye BUT he’s so wrong! He is motivated largely by his brother. King Jae Kang wants him to be useful since he hasn’t done much. Jae Ha seems like a flower vase or more like the thorn in the flower (Royal family). The kind you just want to trim.. But then again, he really surprised me this Second Week.

Our Prince acts on impulse. What he feels, what he thinks at a given situation, he’d just go right in. Because of that, he makes mistakes, huge enough to even cause a turmoil or cause his brother to humbly bow down to his peers. That said, I love that he’s determined to correct all these. I love this will he has, just that he needs to be triggered to realize it. I once read that a failure has no true value when you don’t learn from it. I’m glad, Jae Ha is learning amidst all his failures. Practically, he’s useless, a nobody when you strip him off his Royal mask. But he’s proving us wrong as his journey continues.

Shi Kyung is such a treat this week. I never thought he’s loyal to Jae Ha. Or maybe, like his father, they are both loyal servants to the crown. He intrigues me much. I don’t think he’s a third wheel to our roomies. I would love to see how his role won’t simply be just the ordinary second lead.

I love that our heroine is not a damsel in distress. She’s hurting for a love that can never be hers but she does not succumb to that. I love her bickering moments with Jae Ha so much! In week 2, she’s now able to understand the quirky and naughty persona of Jae Ha. She knows when he’s serious and when he’s out to play again. It’s good that she’s seeing Jae Ha differently since most people really have this prejudice with regard to our Prince. But with Hang Ah, she can handle Jae Ha well enough that she’s able to penetrate his wall, and the depth of his heart..

Favorite Scenes:

I’m back with this feature since Week 2 gave me reasons to have this again.

I would have to say the scene where Jae Ha fell down the hill (towards the end of Episode 4) and he just shouted he can’t do the task any longer. I laughed at first because he’s being such a wimp and a child again.. but when I felt that he was truly hurt.. then it dawned to me. Jae Ha carries not just a wounded foot that day but he carries such a huge baggage full of expectations. As a Prince, he has responsibilities inherent of his position. He knows that, but there’s a rebel in him that wants to break free from it as well. Maybe that’s why he’s being such a nuisance at most. Then again, his brother constantly pushes him to get back on track and Jae Ha won’t in anyway disappoint his brother. This is such a tricky personality he has. Like he’s proving to his brother that he can do better and yet he stumbles fulfilling it.

I love when Jae Ha is vulnerable. When he stops being a pain that causes stress to everyone that surrounds him. It is when he’s weak that we see Jae Ha’s heart, his true self. A man who is determined to finish the race he started. Even if it means he’d be the last one. He learned the value of camaraderie and making the journey more important than anything.

5 Comments

I think my favorite scene was the video call with his brother & he has white powder all over his lips from the donuts. LOL! I still laugh when I see that picture! I love his bromance with the King.
Thanks for the recap!

that’s really funny! I love Jae Ha when he’s talking to his hyung.. he has no bounds, like he’s just chatting so naturally, like a kid.. Dunkin Donuts surely has people lining up wanting a piece of Jae Ha’s flavor 😀

The video call, the rest period & his determination to finish the trek – these are the best features of this episode for me. I love this drama, the actors are the best in their portrayals, the production superb, and waiting for uploads – English, is killing me. Thanks for the recap.

Its great that we can look back to these episodes through your recap.
I lost count how many times I rewatched the marathon sequence at the end. Its so touching, so beautiful, and such a perfect closure to this episode.